Virginia University of Lynchburg Accreditation on Warning

[sanantone]

Update: On April 22, 2024, announced by this public disclosure issued May 21, 2024, the Accreditation Commission of TRACS voted to place Virginia University of Lynchburg on Probation, changing VUL's status from Accredited – Warning to Accredited – Probation.

Ouch! I thought good news was going to be reported when I saw the update. 

Many universities have survived probation, but considering that VUL is small, has financial issues and poor administration, and I think they previously lost regional accreditation, I wouldn't start a DHA there. The DHCA at Oklahoma State University is affordable, regionally accredited, and it has an actual healthcare administration curriculum taught by people with healthcare administration and clinical backgrounds. I question TRACS letting VUL call this a healthcare administration degree. It should have been a generic leadership, administration, or management degree.

I've never been able to find anything saying they were ever RA. I've searched numerous times and haven't found anything. TRACS has also been in hot water so it's not looking good.

It's hard to find the full history of this school. They were accredited by TRACS in 2005; they were recognized as an HBCU in 2011. Old documents say that VUL, which went under a different name at that time, was licensed by Virginia in the 1900s. I guess being licensed was good enough to get the HBCU designation. Other HBCUs that I'm familiar with were accredited in the early 1900s, not just licensed. Everything about VUL is questionable. They were also placed on probation in 2013. 

TRACS might end up getting the ACICS treatment in the future. They've received some scrutiny, but they're not under official investigation, as far as I know. It's strange, though, that schools that have lost regional accreditation flock to TRACS. If a school can't meet TRACS' comparatively low standards, then there must be something seriously wrong.

[Courcelles]

I question TRACS letting VUL call this a healthcare administration degree. It should have been a generic leadership, administration, or management degree.

The strange thing is I think that would have had broader appeal than the DHA. The curriculum (at least from the outside looking in, doesn't appear to) change much if you call it a Doctor of Management or Doctor of Leadership or whatever. But the degree title limits the program to those who have some interest in working in healthcare.

[newdegree]

I’m If someone doesn’t find it strange that they have more VUL DHA doctoral students then undergraduate and graduate (masters level and doctoral of diversity students) that should be a big red flag. DHA program is just used for them to get money. It should be illegal to have more DHA students then all other programs combined… I’m just saying I got the degree but I already am working towards another regionally accredited and reputable program. Also to mention graduation had 7 undergraduate students , 2 masters level students , and 6 doctor of diversity graduates while the DHA program had over 150….

[sanantone]

I question TRACS letting VUL call this a healthcare administration degree. It should have been a generic leadership, administration, or management degree.

The strange thing is I think that would have had broader appeal than the DHA.  The curriculum (at least from the outside looking in, doesn't appear to) change much if you call it a Doctor of Management or Doctor of Leadership or whatever.  But the degree title limits the program to those who have some interest in working in healthcare.

Agree. It would have broader appeal and marketability.

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I’m If someone doesn’t find it strange that they have more VUL DHA doctoral students then undergraduate and graduate (masters level and doctoral of diversity students) that should be a big red flag. DHA program is just used for them to get money. It should be illegal to have more DHA students then all other programs combined… I’m just saying I got the degree but I already am working towards another regionally accredited and reputable program. Also to mention graduation had 7 undergraduate students , 2 masters level students , and 6 doctor of diversity graduates while the DHA program had over 150….

Oh, wow! The DHA is definitely their cash cow degree. I thought it was going to make them financially stable. I wonder if there's mismanagement of funds.

[Tireman4]

Just by my bad math, 15,000 (for just one year) multiplied by 150, is 2,250.000.00. Humm. I saw the signs to the college when I was in Lynchburg.

[sanantone]

Just by my bad math, 15,000 (for just one year) multiplied by 150, is 2,250.000.00. Humm. I saw the signs to the college when I was in Lynchburg.

The program is now $19,500, but $3,000,000 doesn't seem like a lot to survive off of. They put all their eggs in one basket. They need more students in other programs.

[bjcheung77]

The main reason I didn't bother jumping on the ship when they were just $15K a few years ago is because I wanted RA options over NA ones... Even though NA options are better now than before and the CHEA/USDOE doesn't differentiate the NA vs RA as much, I still am more in favor of RA (80% of the time) over NA (20% for those programs that can't be found elsewhere cheaply). There are only a handful of NA options I like, mainly from DEAC institutions...

[ss20ts]

The main reason I didn't bother jumping on the ship when they were just $15K a few years ago is because I wanted RA options over NA ones... Even though NA options are better now than before and the CHEA/USDOE doesn't differentiate the NA vs RA as much, I still am more in favor of RA (80% of the time) over NA (20% for those programs that can't be found elsewhere cheaply).  There are only a handful of NA options I like, mainly from DEAC institutions...

While USDOE doesn't distinguish between NA and RA currently doesn't mean that they won't again in the future nor does it mean that individual states and colleges don't care. They definitely care. An NA degree in many fields will not allow you to sit for licensing in many fields in my state. With several of the NA accreditors having issues over the last few years, I'm not surprised to see states and colleges still make the distinction that RA is what they require.

[sanantone]

I have job alerts for all online instructor job openings posted on Indeed and for several different fields on Higher Ed Jobs. Some institutions have stopped specifying that they require regional accreditation while others still list it as a requirement.

The problem I have with VUL is that they lie to students and say that it's illegal now for an employer to require regional accreditation. It is not. I still haven't come across a VUL DHA graduate who is a professor or instructor at an RA school in a job that requires a doctorate. I've come across some who became professors with a regionally accredited master's degree prior to starting VUL or at the beginning of their DHA program. VUL told me that some of their graduates have become professors. It would help if they posted those examples on their website.

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I searched for "regionally accredited" on Indeed, and there were 6,143 results mostly in higher education.

[cc95]

My understanding on why VUL has certain degree titles and not others is that they have some kind of agreement with Liberty to accept transfer credit but not for degree programs that Liberty already has its own program in place. Hence DHA and not DBA or DSL.